No ambulance: Woman delivers outside Press Club, baby dies

Jalandhar: Exposing serious chinks in the state’s health system, a woman delivered baby on the road in Jalandhar on Tuesday evening. The baby boy died after the delivery. Poonam, wife of a migrant labourer, was being rushed to the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar at around 5.30 pm on rickshaw by her husband Kannu Lal, when the woman went into labour pain. She delivered the baby outside the busy Punjab Press Club road.

Before she could be taken to the hospital which was just 10-minutes away, the woman delivered the baby. In panic, her husband and another woman Neelam, who was accompanying Poonam called for help, after which some women covered a part of the road and helped in delivery. After hearing about the incident, media persons at the Press Club dialled 108 for the ambulance and rushed Poonam to the Civil Hospital after the delivery.

Neelam, a neighbour of woman, said, “Before leaving for the Civil Hospital, we tried to call the 108 Ambulance thrice but to no avail. After receiving no response, we left on a rickshaw but Poonam delivered the baby on the road.” Kannu Lal, the husband of the woman, was in a state of shock and was not able to speak. He lives at Guru Nanak Pura locality. Jalandhar Civil Surgeon Dr Rajiv Bhalla said that the functioning of the 108 Ambulance was not under his purview. PHSC MD Hussan Lal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.